A belated snow and pay question.

jamespir

i think if they dont turn up they shoulndt be paid people have got use of there legs and can walk in

if you let them go home early pay them for the time they worked then thats it

nearlyrich

I work from home, drive out to see customers and I am employed not self employed to answer the two questions above....

I was prepared to drive to see the customers but they hadn't made it in due to their bad weather.

tylerdurden_167

An issue that arose at my work was when the staff who struggled in despite the snow found out that the 2 or 3 staff who were still at home were still going to get paid even though they hadn't made it in.

Next time it snows they will know that they can stay at home and will have little incentive to battle their way to work in poor conditions.

angeltreats

jamespir wrote: »

i think if they dont turn up they shoulndt be paid people have got use of there legs and can walk in

Yes, people have got the use of their legs, but not everyone lives within walking distance of their job! I live an hour's drive away from work and there is no way to get there by public transport. I live in a rural area at the bottom of a steep hill and the first day we had snow, the hill completely iced up and my car absolutely refused to climb the hill. There was no way I was getting to work, and I was mortified because I'd only been in the job two weeks, but my employers were very understanding and I certainly wasn't the only person not to make it in.

I haven't even asked if I'm getting paid - if they make me take it as a day's leave then fair enough. But in my old job, in a similar firm in the same line of business, if we had a snow day then we got paid. Mind you that was in London and if the public transport decided it wasn't running then there was little you could do about it.

nearlyrich

jamespir wrote: »

i think if they dont turn up they shoulndt be paid people have got use of there legs and can walk in

if you let them go home early pay them for the time they worked then thats it

My nearest customer is 40 miles away so my legs would not be much use without my car, and as for going early I don't get paid overtime if I drive home from a HQ meeting that ends at 6pm 4 hours drive away so the odd early finish is reasonable to me.

pineapple

I have worked in establishments where the manager was brilliant and would tell people to go home early (if the weather was really bad) - so long as client safety wasn't compromised. We were paid for the full shift.
As an agency staff, lone working at a sheltered housing scheme, I would ring the head office to get an official sanction to leave early. And of course I took a hit in pay.
You take on a job - you have obligations. Especially in residential care.. You also have responsibilities towards other staff. Your being selfish could mean that others have to work over, or come in early.
It's the managers call as to whether you can leave early. And if you go without permission - sorry I would say it's a case for dismissal unless there are really, really extenuating circumstances. At the very least, pay or holiday docked.

Savvy_Sue

MrsTine wrote: »

But if at 6:30 as first person on site I could get nearly 20 miles in a 1978 mini... and I know at the time I lived the furthest away with the most "non main roads" then anyone not making it in frankly weren't making an effort. On the other hand... I did know where all my staff lived as we were a pretty close team

Did you also know what cars they all drove? Trust me, I'd rather drive 20 miles through snow in a 1978 mini than in a Ford Anglia.

Yup, I had a Ford Anglia in Durham one hard winter, and my then bf had a leaky mini. That's when I learned that you can't take corners in an Anglia at the same speed as you can in a mini. :rotfl::rotfl:

alunharford

As an employer (albeit a very small one at the moment), I have to say that it's utter bean counting to expect to dock employees' wages because they can't get into work. If you want the kind of contract where you pay for piece work then go to an agency or get in contractors.

Leaving your employees in financial trouble because of the weather isn't nice, and it's not good business - you upset and stress out your staff over an irrelevant amount of money. Being able to cope with risks like this is an important part of being an employer.

If you think your employees are screwing you then that's another issue (you have a morale issue or you are recruiting the wrong people).

LittleVoice

nearlyrich wrote: »

I work from home, drive out to see customers and I am employed not self employed to answer the two questions above....

I was prepared to drive to see the customers but they hadn't made it in due to their bad weather.

As you are employed then surely it is for your employer to pay you if you were available to visit the customer and the customer cancelled? Or are you paid on some kind of zero hours contract where if you don't actually do some work you don't get paid?

sammyjammy

borders_dude wrote: »

People who dont turn up to work or leave early because of snow shouldnt be paid full stop.

Its not the employers fault the worker cant get in, therefore shouldnt be paying the worker.

Its not the workers fault but it is their responsibility to get into work, if they dont they shouldnt be paid.

This should particularly apply to those being paid out of the public purse!

Completely agree, I work for DWP and last year someone rang in said they couldn't get in to work because the buses weren't running due to snow, his manager had walked right passed his house that morning on his way to work (he walked), the guy in question was 19yrs old and got a full flexi credit for the day. I was incensed, if he had worked for me I would have told him to get his coat and hat on and walk or take it as a days leave.